Futbol: USA vs Bosnia Herzegovina

Apr 5, 2026
174
201
43
I didn’t say they weren’t. But in the case we are discussing it didn’t matter because of what happened. That was a horror tackle. The only thing that is saving him from a multi game suspension is he obviously didn’t mean to do it, and that the guy was luckily not hurt. The fact that it was an accident is immaterial. It gets a red because the potential harm from a challenge like that is so bad and so common. You can’t put yourself into a position where you do that, even accidentally.
You're talking in circles at this point. The issue is straightforward: when determining whether a challenge warrants disciplinary action—and ultimately a red card—the nature of the challenge, including whether it's reckless, is absolutely relevant. I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that it isn't. The Laws of the Game make that clear, so I'd suggest reading the actual rules before continuing to argue otherwise.

If the referee is saying it wasn't intentional, that's fine. But then the challenge has to be considered reckless. It can't be both unintentional AND not reckless.
 

L4Dawg

All-American
Oct 27, 2016
11,200
7,744
113
You're talking in circles at this point. The issue is straightforward: when determining whether a challenge warrants disciplinary action—and ultimately a red card—the nature of the challenge, including whether it's reckless, is absolutely relevant. I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that it isn't. The Laws of the Game make that clear, so I'd suggest reading the actual rules before continuing to argue otherwise.

If the referee is saying it wasn't intentional, that's fine. But then the challenge has to be considered reckless. It can't be both unintentional AND not reckless.
I’ve been watching this stuff most Saturday mornings, and at other times, for 30 years. I know how it works in practice. A red can be called for dangerous contact, accidental or not. Almost nobody intentionally comments a red card foul unless they throw a punch or something. Almost all of them are actually accidental. Think about what you are saying. What he did WAS reckless by the way, but it wouldn’t have mattered. It was leg breaker type contact, seriously so. That is supposed to be a red.
 

MaroonState

Freshman
Aug 23, 2012
151
69
28
Malik Tillman! What a goal! 2-0!
I was at the game. The ref absolutely sucked donkey b a l l s. Literal trash job on his part. US showed a lot of heart and grit when they went down to 10. The set piece to go up 2-0 was solid gold. I told the people around me don’t get cute with it just shoot right at the goal and he did.
 

MaroonState

Freshman
Aug 23, 2012
151
69
28
Just from those pics the top is a red card & the bottom is a yellow.
Completely disagree patdog. Balogun was off balance trying to right himself and it was an accidental contact. He had no malice. This ref has a history of being a diva not to mention being implicated in Serie A scandal. He may have altered the odds of us advancing on that call. And besides Messi, there are other players in the WC that have fouled similar but weren’t red carded.
 

L4Dawg

All-American
Oct 27, 2016
11,200
7,744
113
Completely disagree patdog. Balogun was off balance trying to right himself and it was an accidental contact. He had no malice. This ref has a history of being a diva not to mention being implicated in Serie A scandal. He may have altered the odds of us advancing on that call. And besides Messi, there are other players in the WC that have fouled similar but weren’t red carded.
The ref didn’t call it. VAR did. Malice doesn’t matter on that kind of contact. I don’t know why that is so hard for this board to understand. Messi’s deal wasn’t the same. it Really wasn’t.
 
Apr 5, 2026
174
201
43
I’ve been watching this stuff most Saturday mornings, and at other times, for 30 years. I know how it works in practice. A red can be called for dangerous contact, accidental or not. Almost nobody intentionally comments a red card foul unless they throw a punch or something. Almost all of them are actually accidental. Think about what you are saying. What he did WAS reckless by the way, but it wouldn’t have mattered. It was leg breaker type contact, seriously so. That is supposed to be a red.
I'm glad you're starting to recognize that recklessness is part of the decision process.

You keep treating intent as if it's irrelevant, but it absolutely factors into the referee's assessment. The contact was clearly unintentional, but that doesn't eliminate disciplinary action. The question now is whether the challenge was reckless.

The defender crashed into Flo, causing him to lose his footing. There was nothing reckless about Flo trying to regain his balance after being knocked off it.

And if you've truly been watching the sport for 30 years, you should know the game isn't officiated the way it was in the 1990s. Modern interpretations of serious fouls and player safety are very different.
 

L4Dawg

All-American
Oct 27, 2016
11,200
7,744
113
I'm glad you're starting to recognize that recklessness is part of the decision process.

You keep treating intent as if it's irrelevant, but it absolutely factors into the referee's assessment. The contact was clearly unintentional, but that doesn't eliminate disciplinary action. The question now is whether the challenge was reckless.

The defender crashed into Flo, causing him to lose his footing. There was nothing reckless about Flo trying to regain his balance after being knocked off it.

And if you've truly been watching the sport for 30 years, you should know the game isn't officiated the way it was in the 1990s. Modern interpretations of serious fouls and player safety are very different.
We were talking about one particular call. On the one in question intent really didn't play into it. All that mattered was the studs down stop (or tread) on an ankle that is bent at 90 degrees by the contact. In today's game that is pretty much always a red.

As for 30 years ago, that probably wouldn't have been a foul. Neither was targeting in football.
 
Apr 5, 2026
174
201
43
We were talking about one particular call. On the one in question intent really didn't play into it. All that mattered was the studs down stop (or tread) on an ankle that is bent at 90 degrees by the contact. In today's game that is pretty much always a red.

As for 30 years ago, that probably wouldn't have been a foul. Neither was targeting in football.
Here's where your misunderstanding is. You're focusing solely on Flo's cleats, but that wasn't the only factor the officials should have considered. A referee's decision should be based on the totality of the play, not a single detail in isolation.

Also, citing a rule from an entirely different sport is irrelevant. Different sports have different rules, standards, and methods of officiating, so the comparison doesn't add anything meaningful to this discussion.

At this point, I don't think we're going to reach common ground because you can't understand the rule or how it's intended to be applied. There's not much value in continuing the debate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: She Mate Me

L4Dawg

All-American
Oct 27, 2016
11,200
7,744
113
Here's where your misunderstanding is. You're focusing solely on Flo's cleats, but that wasn't the only factor the officials should have considered. A referee's decision should be based on the totality of the play, not a single detail in isolation.

Also, citing a rule from an entirely different sport is irrelevant. Different sports have different rules, standards, and methods of officiating, so the comparison doesn't add anything meaningful to this discussion.

At this point, I don't think we're going to reach common ground because you can't understand the rule or how it's intended to be applied. There's not much value in continuing the debate.
The problem is you don’t seem to understand how the game is called. As soon as I saw the replay I knew that was going to be a red.